meeting someone like you
by hdb1995
Summary: Follow the story of a young wizard and a special young witch as they journey through school discovering what they're emotions are telling them. /please note that this is a working story and in no way complete. So if you could follow the process of the story all the way through to the chapter I have posted would be greatly appreciated/
1. Chapter 1

The move/The Strange Dream

"Hello!?" a voice echoes through the darkness, "Is any one there?!" A young girl looks around in the darkness to see if there was any sign of another person or light shining in the distance. She runs with no clue as to where she was heading. She tries to call out but it felt like something was suffocating her. Her running is stalled as a massive force bombards her. She falls to the ground, or whatever she was standing on, as some sort of pressure crushes her to nothing.

Suddenly, two figures appear in the distance calling out to the girl, "Ann Marie," a distant voice says, "It's time to come home." The girl struggles to reach the two figures but the pressure won't let her move an inch.

"I'm coming," she says. But the figures begin to fade. "Wait! Don't go!" she calls. As the pressure becomes too much for her to bear, she wakes up.

Ann Marie jolts back to reality and realizes that she unconsciously let her guard down. If she let it get too far it would kill her. She had fallen asleep in the field behind her family's cottage. It was late summer, early autumn so the air was very humid. The wind was gently blowing as she sat up, focusing on the energy she let slip to make it safe before she heads home. A gentle breeze blew across the field, fluttering her raven black her in her face. After the energy disappears, she stands up and brushes blades of grass off her skirt and walks back to the cottage. She smiles as she remembers that today was her fifteenth birthday. She almost skips back to her parents.

"I'm back, mama," Ann Marie calls after she enters.

Abigail was a short woman of 5'4" standing at the fireplace, her light brown hair falling out of the bun on the top of her head. She turns her sky blue eyes to her daughter, "Your papa will be home from work soon," she says with a gentleness only a mother would have for her child, "I need you to help me make dinner before he gets here." she waves her wand to get the cake out of the stone oven and prepared the frosting. Ann Marie went to wash up before setting the table.

Outside, the sound of wind blowing could be heard and, if you weren't a witch or wizard, you would have thought it was just the wind. But Ann Marie and her mama knew it was papa, Frank Huntington, flying home from a long day at work on his broomstick. The doors open and walks in a towering man of 6"7'. He was in his late forties and it showed with his receding hairline and graying hair, but you could tell that he once had a full head of dark brown hair. Glasses sat perched on the end of his nose. His green eyes shone with wisdom beyond his apparent age and the energy of a child. He takes his hat off and places it in its usual spot next to the door.

"Papa!" Ann Marie squeals as she hugs her father, "How was work?"

"Hey!" Abigail says with mocking offence, "That's my line, little miss."

"I'm not little anymore," Ann Marie says with a pout. She turns her dark purple eyes on her mother.

"No?" Frank asks with feign surprise, "if you're not little anymore, then does that mean you're not my little girl anymore?" he says, faking tears.

"I'll always be your little girl, papa," she hugs her father.

"Well," Abigail interrupts, smilling, "little girl or not you can't get out of helping around the home," she waves her wand again and the food levitates to the table and single servings are placed on each plate and bowl, "now it's time to eat."

After they had eaten dinner and had the cake, Frank clears his throat to get everyone's attention. "Well," he says, "I was informed today at work that I will be transferred to England to work for the British ministry. We leave tomorrow after we're packed."

Everything around Ann Marie suddenly stops. They were moving? All she's ever known was her home. The field she played in as a child, the lessons she received from her mother, the rides on her father's broom when she was a good girl. They were leaving all of that behind? How was she going to adapt to a new home, let alone a different country. Her vision starts to go dark as her magical energy starts to build around her. But she's brought back as her mother shakes her out of that state. She turns her eyes to her mother, worry etched on her face then she looks at her father who wore the same expression.

"Do we have to move?" Ann Marie asks.

"I'm 'fraid so," Frank says sadly, "they haven't made a flough channel this far into America yet. So we are to head to New York for a special transport to England tomorrow morning."

Abigail hugs her daughter knowing that it was going to be hardest on her. "But," Frank continues, "in London they have a special school for witches and wizards that you can attend. That way you can learn to control your magic. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

Ann Marie feels like crying. She's not used to change and this was so sudden. How was she going to cope with it?

...

Meanwhile, in London, England, Samuel Longfellow sits at a window seat in his personal study reading from his spell book. His well-kept light brown hair brushes the tips of his ears as he reads. His pale blue eyes show the intelligence of his sixteen years. His long legs are bent on the window seat that views the ocean and sail boats dotting the horizon but nothing catches the young man's attention as he studies.

With a sigh, Sam closes the book and stand to his full height of 6". He suddenly feels the urge to look out the window he was just sitting at. Stars twinkle in the night sky, the full moon shines brightly high in the sky. Something told him that someone special was going to enter his life. Thinking about this for a moment, Samuel dismisses the feeling and puts his book away and climbs into bed. The day that someone catches his attention would be the day everything he knows stops in its tracks.

He chuckles at his thoughts; he doubted there would be a person who could hold his attention for more than five seconds. He blows out the candle next to his bed and falls asleep.

Sam's eyes open to see a wide field of waving tall grass. He looks around and knows that he wasn't in England, but where? Where ever this place was, the scenery was breath taking. How he longed to see the world. Meet new people, try different foods, and learn magic beyond what he can learn at Hogwarts.

Sam turns around to see a young woman standing on small hill looking at the horizon. The skirt of her dress waves against her legs as the wind blows. Her hair was worn long and he saw that it was darker than the night sky. Even from this distance he could tell she was crying, but why? And then he saw a sort of haze surround the girl and he felt that it was magical energy beyond anything he has ever felt. He knew that she was a special witch that had too much magical energy for her body to handle. He tried calling out to the girl but nothing came out of his mouth. He tries again, yelling but no noise came from him. The young woman turns to leave at the sound of someone calling her.

"Wait!" Sam calls out to her, "Wait! Who are you? Where are you?" she doesn't stop as she walks towards the other voice. "Don't leave! Please!" He tries to move towards her but he can't move from that spot. He reaches his hand out for to reach her as everything around him turned dark.


	2. Chapter 2

The Fateful Encounter/ The Explanation

Samuel wakes up with a start and squints as sunlight pours into his room. _It's morning already?_ He thought. He gets up and dresses for the day. He had to go to Diagon Ally for this year's school supplies. He descends the stairs and meets his older brother Johnathon, age eighteen, his younger brother and sister, age ten, the twins, Sally and Stewart, already up and eating breakfast. His mother, Martha, is drinking her usual morning tea and his father, Arthur was probably already off to work at the ministry. His family had similar physical traits such as near blond hair and various shades of blue eyes.

"Morning, sleepy head," John teases, "Just wake up or are you sleep walking?"

"Good to see you're as lively as ever," Sam says dryly.

Talia, the youngest of the Longfellow children, age five, waddles into the dining room, rubbing her eyes. "Mornin'," she says still waking up. Sam helps her to get into her seat at the table and gives her some breakfast. He then serves himself some and starts eating.

"I can't believe that this is my last year at Hogwarts," John says full of energy, but Sam was only half listening as his brother kept talking. His mind went back to the dream he had the previous night and who that girl was. What was she to him? What role will she have in his life? He didn't know and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out.

Sam was brought out of his thoughts when John kept calling his name.

"Earth to Sammy," John says, a little peeved that he was being ignored.

"Hmm," Sam asks with little interest.

John's eyes widen, "you usually hate it when I call you Sammy," John says, astonished, "You're not sick are you?"

Everyone looks at Sam curious. He looks around confused. "What?" he asks.

"We've been trying to get your attention for five minutes," Martha says, "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, yeah," he says, "I was just thinking."

No one questioned him. They knew that he didn't like it when people pestered him to speak his mind. And Sam could get scary when he was mad. After breakfast, John, Sally, Stewart, and Sam set off to get their school supplies. The twins' birthday was just after school started so they got special permission to go to Hogwarts before they officially turned eleven. Once they were at Diagon Ally, they first went to Allivanders' to allow the twins to get their wands while John and Sam went to the book store to buy the books they would need for that year and also bought the twins theirs in the process.

Once the twins both got their wands, they headed to get their uniforms to be fitted. Sam waited for his turn to be fitted with Sally. The door opens and the bell jingles letting them know another customer was there. "Yes," one of the women says not looking up, "please, wait to be fitted." Sam looks to see who it is and his eyes widens. Even though the shop was dimly light with candles, he could tell that the person who just walked in was a dark haired girl. Though there are many young girls with black hair but this one was different. She seemed uncomfortable being here. He wondered why.

Sam was frozen to the spot and unable to do anything but Sally seemed unphased by this new arrival and instigated a conversation with her. "Hi," she says brightly, "my name is Sally Longfellow. And who would you be?"

"My name is Ann Marie Huntington," the girl says with an accent that clearly came from the States.

"May I call you Marie?" Sally asks.

Ann Marie looked stunned. Could it be that she has never encountered someone like his sister Sam thought to himself. "I...I don't mind," she says shyly.

Sam couldn't help but think that she was cute the way she acted. "This is my older brother, Sammy." Sally says, bringing Sam back to what was going on.

"Sally," Sam says, trying to be patient, "don't call me Sammy. Or do you want me to call you Silly Sally like John used to?" he teasingly threatened and she giggles.

"If I may ask," Marie says softly, "but who is "John"?"

Before either Sam or Sally could answer her, John walks up with his new school uniform wrapped up saying, "That would be me. My name is Johnathon," He grabs Marie's hand and gently kisses the back of it and winks at her causing Sam to twitch unconsciously, "but everyone calls me John."

"O...Oh," Marie stutters and blushes, "It's nice to meet you John."

"Likewise," John smiles brightly.

Stewart comes up and looks at everyone confused and then sees Marie and asks without thinking, "Are you some kind of raven?'

"Stewart," John scolds, "you must be polite to the young woman."

"Oh no," Marie says quietly, "It's fine. I can understand why he would ask that. Can I have my hand back please?" she asks John.

Sam walks over to the women to be fitted for his uniform, not sure what was going on with him just now. Why did he not like the fact that John kissed Marie's hand? He only just met her and he's feeling this way!? _But_ , he thought to himself, _I'm sure I'll forget about her in no time_.

...

Marie looks after Sam in confusion, _why does it feel like I've met him somewhere_ _?_ She thinks to herself. John continues to talk to her but she can only hear half of what he is saying and responded without thinking of what he was saying to her. The girl, Sally, follows Sam to be fitted as well and it is almost her turn. She looks away from Sam as she tries focusing on John and what he is talking about. America? She wasn't sure but she can't get that guy out of her mind.

She takes a quick glimpse towards Sam to find him looking back at her. She blushes and looks away again. Her mind wonders to the move here and her guard slips. She notices that everyone can sense her magic power seeping from her body when everyone becomes deathly silent. She quickly puts her guard back up and walks to one of the seats against the wall and looks at the floor. She doesn't dare look up to see if anyone was looking at her. She feels tears trying to push its way out of her eyes until she hears footsteps approach where she sat. She could feel her body tense up and tremble from the effort. Marie feels a gentle hand touch her knee. She looks up to see Sam looking down at her with concern.

"Hey," Sam says, "are you ok?" He kneels down in front of her, causing her to blush more and look away.

John walks up behind Sam, "Gee Sammy, I have never seen you so interested in a single person before." Sally and Stewart both agree. "But what I don't get is what happened just now?" John and everyone looks towards Marie, "Can you tell us what happened?"

Marie looks around at everyone that is surrounding her when her mother walks in. She takes in the situation and says, "How about after you're all fitted, we all get something to eat and I'll explain the situation?" Everyone agrees to that and Sam and Sally go back to being fitted. Abigail walks over to her daughter, "Is everything alright?"

"I don't know," Marie says shortly, looking down at the floor once again until it is her turn to be fitted.

Once everyone had their uniforms, they go to an eatery nearby and Abigail starts to tell the story of how Marie got this illness, "She was born with too much magic for her young body. And despite her appearance, she got no traits from her father or me. We don't know where she got her hair and eye color from but we think it's all that magic inside of her. But if she's not careful, that power of hers could build up and explode killing everyone around her including herself," Everyone is silent when they heard what could happen if her power goes out of control. Marie sits in her seat playing with her food, not wanting to look anyone in the eyes but she knew that they are looking at her. "We've been trying to figure out how to help her get over it but nothing has helped so far," Abigail continues to say, "We hope that, if she learns how to use the magic she has, then it will be easier for her to cope with all that that pent up energy. But in America, there is no magical school in which to teach her."

"That makes sense," Sam says, he looks at Marie with what looked like concern, "There have been similar cases but they did not live this long. Usually it's from stress or depression. I've never heard of it occurring since birth."

"Neither have we," Abigail says, "but lately it's been getting harder for her to contain it," Abigail looks down at her food, unable to say anything else. No one pressures her to continue. They know without anyone saying it wouldn't have made a difference in the matter.


	3. Chapter 3

The Protective Father/The Start of Love?

Frank comes up to the group with the rest of Marie's supplies. He takes one look at everyone's expressions and knows that Abigail has already told them the story. It was sad indeed, especially for him when he knows that Marie probably has less than five years left to live. _If she had that long left to live then I don't know what I'm going to do_ , Frank thinks to himself. He pushes the thoughts out of his mind and purposefully puts the books down on the table with a loud thud, jolting everyone out of their thoughts.

"Look," Frank says, forcing a smile, "if this plan of ours works, then she can live a full life," he pets Marie on the head.

"Papa," Marie says surprised, and stands to hug her father.

Frank hugs her back and feels a pair of eyes on them. He looks up without moving his head to see a young man around Marie's age. He is watching them with what seems to be genuine concern. More than that, Frank has the feeling that this young man is taken by his daughter. And who wouldn't be interested in Marie? She was a beautiful young woman but she was still young. With her long, raven black hair and her piercing but gentle purple eyes and her charm which she got from him. But she's much too young to think about boys.

Frank pulls Marie closer to him. Unaware that he is holding her too tight, Marie says something, "Papa," she says in a strained voice, "I can't breathe."

"Oh," Frank says, snapping out of his thoughts, "I'm sorry. I didn't hurt you did I?"

Marie shakes her head and sits back down. Abigail pulls up a chair for Frank and introduces everyone to him, "Honey, this is Johnathon, Samuel, Sally, and Stewart Longfellow. They will be attending the same school as Marie."

"Oh really," Frank says with false enthusiasm, "It is a pleasure to meet all of you."

"Likewise, Mr. Huntington," John replies, "I must say, Marie really doesn't look like you or your wife."

"Yes," Franks says with a chuckle, looking at the young man, he could tell just from looking at him that he was a man who would lead women on with his charm and good looks. He wouldn't let him near his daughter. He doesn't want Marie to be hurt like that, "it puzzles us as well. But Marie doesn't seem to mind."

"Because it doesn't, papa," Marie says, "all I need to know is that you're my parents despite the difference in our features."

"Well spoken, Marie," John says brightly.

"Indeed," Sam says, quietly. He looks at Marie, "so you have no magical experience whatsoever?"

Marie shakes her head, "Mama tried to teach me a few simple spells she knew but when I tried to do them, well," she looks off embarrassed and scratches her cheek.

"No need to explain further," Sam says, "At Hogwarts they will try to find a way to help you with your magic," he looks at the clock in a shop near them, "But if you will excuse us, we must finish our shopping then we must head home."

"What do you have left to buy?"

"We must buy owls for the twins," Sam says, his ears turning red. This is the first time she has spoken directly to him and he doesn't know what to do.

"Really," Marie says, "I still need to buy an owl as well. Mind if I join all of you?"

Sam becomes unable to answer. And before he could say anything, John jumps into the conversation, "Oh we would love your company, milady," He bows to her but it seemed to not affect her as much as it has with other young ladies.

Marie turns to her parents, "Is that fine with you?"

"Of course," Abigail says enthusiastically, "this will help you have friends in school."

Frank gives Marie some money for the owl and she goes off with the Longfellows. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Abigail?" He turns to his wife once they were out of sight.

"Not quite," Abigail says, "but if she doesn't open up to others then she won't have anyone other than us to be there for her. If she falls in love," she looks at her husband, "then it may fix her illness in some way." She looks stunned at Frank, "What is the matter, Darling?"

"Don't say that," Frank says sobbing as thoughts of his little girl as a new bride flashes through his mind, "I'm not ready to let go of my little girl."

"She is not a little girl. She is completely capable of finding love at this age. It's much like me when I met you."

Frank chuckles at the memory. He looks down at his wife, "And like your father I won't let another man have her until I know that he is worthy of her."

Abigail laughs and links her arm around Frank's, "I saw the cutest little shop down here. I wanted to have a look with you. Shall we go?"

"Of course" Frank says, smiling, "I can't say no to you."

...

Sam was trying to help Sally and Stewart find an owl, but Marie was also looking for one and she distracted him like no other. She laughs as she looks at the different animals in the shop. She reminded him of his baby sister back home. Marie is like a child the way she marvels at the different types of owls on display. He doesn't know what it was about her that kept his attention for this long, but he can't get her out of his head. He found her cute and he usually found only Talia cute. No one outside his family has had this effect on him like Marie does.

"Hey, Sam," Marie's voice breaks through his thoughts

"Y...yes?" Sam stutters, "How may I help you?"

"What do you think about this one?" Marie points out a small, brown owl.

Sam knows that they are small but they are stronger then they look, "That would be a good choice," he says looking at the nocturnal bird.

"You think so?" Marie looks at Sam expectantly.

"Uh..." Sam stutters, feeling his ears burn again, "Y...yes. They are a very reliable breed. They're very resilient."

"Then I pick this one," Marie smiles.

Sam blushes. He looks away and feels John put his arm around his shoulder, "What is the matter, Sammy?" John says teasingly, "It can't be that you are falling for this lovely lady, can it?"

"What are you squawking about now?" Sam says, turning a deeper shade of red and looking the opposite direction of John.

"Don't worry," John says to Marie, "it is very rare for anything to keep his attention for this long. You must be very special if you can make him react this way," he winks at her.

Marie looks at John confused. "All I asked was what he thought of this owl," she holds out the owl she just purchased.

"I see," John says, "well, Sally and Stewart have chosen their owls so we must be going," he pulls Sam with him, "Come on, lover boy."

"Excuse me!?" Sam says, "Let go of me!"

Marie covers her mouth as she laughs at the sight. Sam blushes again at the sight of her laughing at him. "I will see you at school, won't I?" Marie asks before they disappear out the door.

"But of course," John says coolly, "Until then, Miss Marie." He bows, still holding a blushing Sam in his arm.

Sam manages to get out of John's hold on him, "What was the big idea, John?" he asks more than a little annoyed.

"If you are referring to Marie, then should you not already know?" John says seriously.

Sam thinks about what John says and he can't come to any conclusion what it could mean. He wasn't sure if he'd ever know. This is very puzzling indeed.


	4. Chapter 4

The Trip to Hogwarts/The sorting hat

On the day of the first day of school, Sam, John, Sally, and Stewart are saying goodbye to their parents before heading off. The carriage that would be taking them to Hogwarts is almost there and they were giving hugs before it stops in front of them. The carriage was larger than muggle coaches would be and could fit more people and even carry more luggage and travel faster. It wasn't grand or eye catching and that's how they wanted to keep it. Well, some of them did at least. In front of the carriage, where the horses should have been, stood nothing but air. Or at least that's what most people see.

As Sam and John were loading the trunks, Sally and Stewart stand admiring the carriage and, without warning, Marie opens the door, "Sally? Stewart? Is that you?" She says with excitement.

Sam stumbles while loading the trunks when he hears Marie's voice. John sees this and chuckles and helps him put the trunk with the others and leads Sam to the carriage door. Marie smiles at Sam, causing him to want to run back into the house.

He can't hear anyone as he watches Marie. Talia, asleep in her father's arms, wakes up to Marie and she waves hi. Marie smiles and says hi back and compliments on what a cute young lady she was. She giggles and hides her tiny face in her father's chest. Sam smiles at how Talia opened up to Marie so easily. She was usually very shy around strangers, so something like this was very special. If Talia opened up to Marie this easily then she must like her after just meeting her. Marie must be someone very special after all.

"Well," Martha says, sadly, "you better be going. Otherwise all of you will be late." she gives all of her children one last hug and turns to Marie, "It's a pleasure meeting you after hearing so much about you." she looks purposefully towards Sam as she says this. Sam blushes and looks away.

"It was a pleasure meeting you as well, Mrs. Longfellow," Marie says.

"Oh," Martha says, laughing, "Please, call me Martha."

"Come on, Marie," John says, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, "we must be going."

"Yes, of course," Marie says, she waves to Talia, "goodbye."

"'Bye 'bye," Talia says.

Marie climbs back into the carriage and takes her seat again. John climbs in after her and finds Sally and Stewart already sitting and there were only two seats left. John sees that one of them was next to Marie and took this chance to force Sam to sit next to her. Sam sees this and sends a glaring look towards John. John pretends to not notice this as he points to a bird out the carriage window.

Sam consciously sits down next to Marie, his ears burning from awareness.

Marie is talking with a girl that sat on the other side of her and they start laughing about something one of them says and Sam couldn't get over the uncomfortable feeling he had. What was going on with him? Why was he acting like a little boy who did something wrong? Was that the right analogy to use for his situation? He didn't know but he knew that he couldn't stop listening to Marie's voice as she talks. It sounded sweet and innocent. When she laughs it is like hearing the sound of a bell. She is very animated when she talks. She would use her hands to talk more so then naught. It made her seem livelier then she appeared. She was, to his surprise, very calm and excited about going to school. He smiled to see her so excited. It made him excited even more then he usually is about going to school.

Marie rubs her eyes and stifles a yawn. The girl she is talking to asks if she is ok and Marie replies, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just couldn't sleep last night, I was too excited."

"And it shows," John says, he turns to the girl, "I'm afraid I didn't catch your name."

"Ashton. Linda Ashton," Linda says, "but my friends call me Lindy."

"Well," John says, "it is a pleasure to meet you, Lindy. My name is Johnathon Longfellow, by the way. But you can call me John.

"Pleasure," Lindy says.

"Anyway, Marie," John says, turning back to Marie, "you should sleep. It will be some time before we get to the castle."

"Ok," Marie says, starting to fall asleep.

Without warning, Marie lays her head down on Sam's shoulder, making him stiffen. He slowly started to relax knowing that she wouldn't get much sleep if it was hard to sleep on a stiff shoulder.

"You should put your arm around her to make her more comfortable, Sammy" John says, teasing Sam again.

Sam glares at John again before hesitantly putting his arm around Marie's shoulders. She rests her head in the crook of his neck and stays like that until Lindy wakes her up to change before they got to Hogwarts. Once she left, Sam starts to miss holding her. He mentally slaps himself for thinking such nonsense. If he can't get Marie out of his head, how is he going to pay attention in class?

...

Marie exits the carriage and gasps at how magnificent the Hogwarts castle looks. Though it is night, torches are lit showing the way into the castle. In the dark, Marie could tell that the castle is very large and gracious. She can see lights on in different parts of the castle and is amazed at how it gives life to it.

Marie is so caught up with the castle that she hadn't realized that Sam is trying to get her attention. "Since this is your first year at Hogwarts, and given your age, you will need to see Professor Sparrow to be placed into a house." Sam tells her once he knows she is paying attention to him.

Marie nods her head, "And just who might, Professor Sparrow, be?" she asks.

"I'll show you who she is once we get inside," Sam says, leading her to the doors.

Once inside, Sam takes Marie to the teachers as they enter the Great Hall, "May I speak to Professor Sparrow, please?" he asks, looking for her among the teachers.

"I am sorry," an elderly woman says, "but Professor Sparrow is taking care of the new students that are coming in this year."

"As I thought," Sam says, muttering to him-self, "Come on," He says to Marie, "looks like we will have to see the Headmaster about having you sorted."

Sam leads the way, moving quickly so as not to miss Sally's and Stewart's entrance. They run into the headmaster in the hall. The Headmaster, or the Headmistress, is an elderly woman of about 90 years of age, with her grey hair pulled back into a bun on the top of her head, and a pair of spectacles on the tip of her nose. Her stature is shrinking, but one could see that she was once a tall woman standing at 6' before old age took over. Her eyes shine with wisdom beyond her years, and hold a gentleness that can't be dimmed with age.

"Oh, Professor Jonquil," Sam says, "Can you help my friend here?"

"Ah Mr. Longfellow," Professor Jonquil says, giving him a gentle smile, "Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts. Now, what may I help you with?"

"This is Ann Marie Huntington. She's from the Colonies," Sam says, introducing Marie.

"It's the States," Marie says softly.

"My," She says, looking at Marie with peeked interest, "you are most definitely a special child," she takes her hands in her own, "An illness inflects you. But so much potential lies deep within you, but you lack the experience to control that potential," She pats her hand, "But don't fear, child, you will be very safe in the hollowed grounds of Hogwarts. We will take great care of you. Now," she says with definite resolve, "you must be sorted into one of the four houses. Please, follow me." she leads the way to her office.

"One thing you should know," Sam says to Marie, "there are four houses here at Hogwarts: Hufflepuff; Ravenclaw; Gryffindor; and Slytherin. Everyone is sorted into one of those four houses and they stay in those houses until they graduate. For example, I am in Ravenclaw. John is in Gryffindor. Sally and Stewart have yet to be placed. Usually this process is done in your first year. But in your case, there was an exception. I have asked Professor Jonquil to sort you personally for you have not lived in the country for as long as everyone else here. Do you understand what I am saying, Marie?"

Marie nods, but continues to look ahead to where a large statue of an eagle, with its wings spread out wide and curved as if to protect them. Jonquil stops in front of the statue and says, "Racing Centaurs," There is a loud rumble and the eagle starts to spiral its way up. As it spirals, steps start to appear and she begins to walk on the moving staircase as it continues to form. Sam helps Marie onto the staircase and gets on after her. She clings to his arm as the stairs continue to move. He tries not to flinch too much to make her any more surprised than she already is.

Once they reached the Headmaster's office, Professor Jonquil takes a floppy cap, that looked slightly used, and asks Marie to sit in one of the seats in front of a large oak wood desk, and places the hat on top of her head. A voice whispers in her ear, "My, my," the voice says, "you're a vulnerable girl, but full of compassion for others and for the creatures around you. Your illness has prevented you from a proper magical education. You may use what you learn here to prolong your life. The house I have found most suited for you is Hufflepuff!"


	5. Chapter 5

Hufflepuff welcomes me home/ The sorting no one expected

Now, with Marie sorted into one of the four houses, Sam, the Headmistress and her heads back to the Great Hall where the rest of the students sit waiting. Everyone is loud with excitement to see their friends again and discussing what this year is going to bring. Jonquil motions for her to follow her to where the teachers sit patently. Marie looks around to see all of the students with their uniforms and the standards of their house. She is absolutely amazed at how many people there are.

Once, at the back of the hall, Jonquil stands at the podium and clears her throat and everyone becomes silent, waiting for her to make the announcements. "Welcome," she says her voice loud and clear as it is carried through the hall, "to another year at Hogwarts. Before we bring in the first year students, there is someone I would like to introduce to all of you," she holds out her hand to Marie and she steps forward, standing next to the Headmistress, "This special young lady is Ann Marie Huntington. She moved here from the States to our beautiful country and now she has been given a chance to learn magic here where it was very difficult for her before. She will be joining the fifth year students in their studies and I hope that everyone will make her feel at home. The house she will be joining was decided earlier this evening in my office. And that house is," she pauses for effect, "Hufflepuff!" she announces loud and clear into the Great Hall.

The Hufflepuff's clap and cheer for their newest member. Jonquil taps her wand on Marie's robe and the Hufflepuff plaque appears on her chest as the students' cheers ring through the hall, shining yellow and orange with the house animal. The Headmistress dismisses her to sit with her house and they welcome Marie with open arms. Congratulating her and welcoming her to Hufflepuff. Marie could feel herself smiling happily and thanking all of them.

She sits down next to a girl who introduces herself as Jacklyn Foster, whose hair is a vibrant red and very curly, freckles dots her cheeks, and bright blue eyes; and a boy named Robert Thomas, who has dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and from the looks of it he is fairly tall. Marie knows that they will become the best of friends.

...

Sam watches as Marie takes her seat with Hufflepuff and smiles to himself. When he sees Robert Thomas talking with her his smile fades and he forces himself to look away. There are too many bad rumors associated with him and girls that it makes him feel uncomfortable. Lost in his thoughts over being jealous of Robert, he almost misses the first years coming into the Great Hall. He looks among them to see if he could find Sally and Stewart. He can't exactly see them from where he sat but he knows he will have to wait until their names are called.

After a number of names have been called, Professor Sparrow calls, "Longfellow, Sally," Sally nervously walks up to sit on the tri stool as the Sorting hat is placed on her head. Sam sees her shock when it talks in her ear. He can still remember having the same reaction when he first came to Hogwarts. He chuckles inwardly. He was so young and ignorant then. A lot has changed since then, and in more ways than one, surprisingly.

Suddenly, the sorting hat yells out to the hall, "Hufflepuff!" Everyone cheers and Sally walks down to the Hufflepuff table. Before she sits down, she gives Marie a hug and sits down next to a girl she was talking to on the carriage ride here. Next, Stewart would be sorted. What house is he going to be placed in?

"Longfellow, Stewart," Sparrow calls. Stewart walks to the stool and sits down as the hat is placed on his head. It doesn't take long for him to be placed into a house, but the house he is placed in shocks his family.

The sorting hat yells to the hall, "Slytherin!" Almost everyone cheers for Stewart, except for Sam, John, Sally and Marie. No one expected for this to happen. Sam looks at Sally to see the color draining from her face and her smile turning into a frown. She would be affected more than the rest of them, being Stewart's twin sister. Marie stands up and catches her before she falls out of her seat. She fainted!

Stewart staggers slightly, feeling the effect of his sister fainting. He looks in the direction of Sally and sees her in Marie's arms. He doesn't know what to do. He wants to help his sister, but he has to sit with his house. So, he puts on a smile and acts like he's excited to be in Slytherin. What is he feeling right now? What is going on with him?


	6. Chapter 6

The beginning of school life/ Beginning to understand their feelings

Sally came too after the last person is sorted, "I am fine, Marie," she says, grabbing her head.

"Are you sure?" Marie asks, "You still look very pale."

"Let us take it from here," one of Sally's new friends says, "We will take care of her. Do not worry."

Marie nods and goes back to her seat. As she sits herself down, the Headmistress stands at the podium again, she waits until everyone became silent again before she says, "Now, let the feast," She pauses, feeling the students' anticipation, "begin!"

On the tables, foods from various venues and cultures appear. All of the first year students gasp, including Marie, taking in the sight of so much food in front of them. Marie sees her favorite foods from America. She doesn't know where to start eating. Robert serves her some food for her, dishing some stew, lamb chops, bread, a variety of fruits, and poured some water into her goblet.

"Here," Robert says, "this is what I think is the best foods in England,"

"Oh," Marie says, looking down at her plate, "thank you,"

"No problem," He says, smiling.

"Quit flirtin', Bobby," Jacklyn teases, "don't try to lead her on like the others,"

"Who said I was flirting!?" Robert blushes.

Marie stifles a laugh. Her new friends are hysterical. She knows that they are going to make her new life here much more bearable.

After the feast, everyone went to their houses' common rooms and Jacklyn leads Marie to the girls' dormitory, finding her room with each other. The other girls that are in that room introduce themselves as Jessica Jane, a perky blonde; Amelia Oswald, a brunet with spectacles; Heather Ross, an auburn beauty that Marie wouldn't have been surprised if all the guys fell for her. Other than that, they seemed like very good girls. They are going to be friends. She just knows it.

Marie sits on her bed, chatting with her new friends in their night gowns, talking about boys, school, and life in general. She doesn't say much for fear that she will let her guard slip and scare her new friends away. She hopes she will be able to do what her parents did to help keep her guard up as she slept. It will be terrible if she fails. She shudders at the mere thought of it. And then, she has an idea.

"Um," Marie says a bit shy, "may I ask you all a favor?"

"Of course," Jessie says giddily, "what is it, Marie?"

"Could you help me keep my powers under control while I sleep?" Marie says.

The room became silent. "What do you mean?" Jackie asks.

"I have a magical illness and always have since the moment I was born," Marie explains, "My parents has this special ritual to help me keep my excess magic in check so as not to kill everyone around me as I slept," She pulls out a piece of parchment from her luggage that her parents gave her to give to her roommates, "This is what my parents does every night to ensure everyone's safety."

Jackie takes the piece of parchment and looks over the contents. She then looks up at Marie, "Are you sure you need us to do this and not by yourself?" she asks, handing the parchment to the other girls.

Marie nods her head, "My parents told me not to attempt it on my own," she says,

Everyone remains silent as the parchment is being passed around. Marie looks around at her roommates, panic starts to well up inside of her. When it seems they won't help and Marie is about to give up, Jessie says, "Every night, so your magic won't implode on itself?"

"Yes," Marie says.

They look at each other before deciding that they will help. Marie is so happy she just has to get up and hug each of them. Before they went to bed, Jackie and Amelia help Marie with her magic like her parents did. And with that, they all went to sleep with ease, knowing that they will live to see tomorrow.

...

Sam can't seem to fall asleep that night. Marie is all he can think about and he doesn't know why she has this effect on him. Maybe it is the fact that she is ill, or the fact that she doesn't know if she will live to be twenty or to be able to get married at the very least. Or maybe it is her gentle purple eyes that show the kindness of a child.

Sam sits straight up in his bed. Where in heaven and earth did THAT last thought come from?! There is no way that he is attracted to Marie. He has never been attracted to anyone in his life. He rubs his face trying to get that thought out of his head. What is he going to do if this continues the way it is?

The next morning, Sam drags himself out of bed and gets ready for the day. On the way to the Great Hall, John came up to greet him, "Sammy," he says, seeing the tired look on his brothers face, "you look awful. Did you get any sleep last night?"

"No," Sam says, rubbing his eyes, "I could not get a wink. I couldn't get Marie out of my head."

"Oh," John says knowingly, "now this is very interesting," he puts his arm around Sam's shoulders and ruffles his hair, "My little brother is smitten by a girl."

"I am not smitten by her," Sam says annoyed. His roommates were saying the same things earlier that morning and it has gotten him in a foul mood.

"Sure you are not," John says, at that moment Marie's laughter can be heard coming from the corridor leading to the Hufflepuff Common Room. Sam stumbles on his footing upon hearing her coming. He tries going the other way but John stops him, "Where do you think you are going, little brother?" He brings him back around and continues to walk as Marie gets closer, "If you are not smitten by her then why are you running away?"

"Running away from whom?" Jessie says her curiosity piking.

"Nothing," Sam says before John can get the chance to say anything, "No one is running away from anyone," he says this more towards his brother then to Marie and her new friends.

"Good morning, boys," Heather says, flipping her hair behind her, drawing in John's attention but not Sam's. That has always bothered her. She has always turned man's eye. So why does she not have that effect on him?

"Morning," John says looking her over, Sam rolls his eyes.

Sam shrugs John's arm off his shoulders and heads for the Great Hall. He freezes when he hears Marie call, "Good morning, Sam," to him. He silently calls back, "Good morning, Marie," and quickly gets into the hall and sits at his table. He rubs his face again, trying to wrap his head around what just happened.

Sam has Potions first thing that morning so he has to get his strength up before classes start. A girl in Ravenclaw named Donna Shultz sits down across from him and says, "Good morning, Samuel. Sleep well?" she begins to dish herself breakfast and barely looks up at him.

Sam mutters a response even he wasn't sure what he said.

Donna finally looks up at Sam knowing something is wrong, "What happened last night? You look awful."

"I could not sleep last night," Sam says. Donna has been his closest friend since their first year here, if he told her what was going on with him she wouldn't believe him.

"I can see that," Donna says, "The question is why. Why did you not get sleep last night?"

Sam hesitates. He can't tell her, he just can't. "Sam," Donna says putting her hand on top of his, "you know you can tell me anything right?"

Sam looks at nothing at particular for a moment, the noise in the Great Hall increases slowing before he decides to tell her. "Donna," he says slowly, "I have a situation that I cannot get off my mind."

"Well," Donna says, "knowing you, you would keep at it until you came to a conclusion," she takes a bite of her food.

"This is different," Sam says finally dishing him-self food, "I have never been in this kind of situation before. Especially since it has to do with a girl."

Donna chocks on her food when she hears what Sam said. "Wait," She takes a drink of water to force the food down her throat, "You were thinking of a girl?" She waves her fork at him, slightly mocking him. He looks down at his plate not saying a word. She is shocked. For as long as she's known him he has never shown any interest in any girls. Not even she can catch his attention aside from being friends. This is serious. "So," She says after a moment of pause, "this girl, she must really be something to have your brilliant mind in a bunch like this."

"You have no idea," Sam says, taking a bite of his food.

"Tell me about her," She says, not looking up from her food.

"She is," he pauses, getting a feeling he never felt before, "kind, beautiful, gentle and so innocent that it makes you want to protect her," He felt wistful and lighter than air and he, for some reason, doesn't want to let go of these feelings.

Donna looks up at Sam. He stares off into the distance with a faint smile on his face. He rarely smiles. She grips her fork tighter in frustration. Who is this girl and what has she done to Sam? She has to do something about this intruder before she loses him forever.


	7. Chapter 7

The impossible challenge solved/A new potions master?

Once in potions class, Sam felt like he can concentrate on school again. He is getting ready for class to begin when Professor Wizen, a stout man in his late forties with graying hair and a nice trim beard that still holds some brown in it, walks in followed by a girl with long black hair and Sam freezes, as he recognized that hair. He groans and rubs his face and looks at the front of the room to see Marie smiling at the room.

"Everyone," Professor Wizen says in his monotone voice, "This is Ann Marie. She will be joining our class as of today."

"But this is advanced potions class," a boy from Slytherin calls out, "She just got here."

"If I might explain," Marie says, the professor nods his head, "Back in America, my mama taught me how to make potions so that we could find a cure for my illness. I know the basic of potion making but I thought," she shrugs her shoulders, the hair that is there slips off and Sam catches himself watching her intently. He shakes his head to snap out of it. Marie continues, "Maybe learning more here can help me to finding a way to prolong my life a little longer to find the cure. If you would allow me to work alongside you I would be very grateful." she curtsies to everyone in the class.

The room is silent after Marie has finished talking. Sam can feel some tension from somewhere in the room but he can't take his eyes off of her. She is so innocent he has to protect her. He mentally shakes his head to clear his thoughts. He can't afford to lose his train of thought and risk his grades. He has to focus, even if it means trying to ignore Marie.

"Very well," Professor Wizen says, "if there are no questions then we will begin," he turns to Marie, "you may work alongside Mr. Longfellow in case you need any help. He has been the best in my class since his first year." Sam tenses when he realizes he said his name.

"Thank you, Professor," Marie says, walking to sit next to Sam. She smiles at him as she sits down.

Sam smiles back, his heart is racing. What is wrong with him? He turns his attention to the front of the class. How is he going to pay attention now?

...

"Alright," the professor says, "if you will take a look at the board," he waves his wand and a piece of chalk starts to move and writes on the board, "you will find the potion that you are required to make before the end of class. Once you have the name, look in your books for the ingredients."

The chalk stops writing and what is on the board says 'Draught of Death'. It was a complicated potion indeed. Marie takes a look in her book for the potion. From the looks of it, the potion they were instructed to make had something wrong with how you prepare it. She goes to the supply cabinet to get the ingredients and returns to her cauldron and double checks to see how you prepare the potion: cut one Darkle root, chopped Tantactilla leaves, one whole Growth Worm, ash of a Phoenix, cut one Lucter bean, saliva of a three headed dog and many more ingredients. She can already see many problems in the preparation of this potion. But she has to do what she can.

Marie grabs the Darkle root and, instead of cutting it, puts it in a grinding bowl and grinds the root. She remembers her mama telling her that Darkle root is very brittle so cutting it wasn't a smart idea. Everyone around her looks up from their work to see what she's doing and think she is crazy. But she doesn't care. She knows what she is doing and that is all that matters.

Next, Marie adds the leaves with the root. The leaves can't be cut just like the roots. Once it was all ground together, she puts that into the pot and grabs the next ingredient, Growth Worm. The Growth Worm can't be put in whole. It will ruin the potion and what you really want is what is inside the worm. She takes her knife and cuts down the middle of the worm. She opens up the worm and lets the juice from it drip into the pot. She stirs the pot as it starts to turn yellow.

After the next few ingredients, Marie adds the ashes and crushes the Lucter bean. The liquid from the bean drips into the pot and she gets the saliva ready. She stirs the potion and adds the last ingredient. The potion turns black and she knows that it's ready.

"Professor," Marie says, "I'm done with the potion."

"Already," Professor Wizen asks surprised.

"It wasn't that difficult, sir," Marie says. Everyone murmurs at her words.

Professor Wizen walks over, holding a small leaf, and holds it over Marie's cauldron. Dropping it into the potion, steam rises up and forms a skull and then disperses. His eyebrows rise in surprise. "Well done, miss Huntington," he says, "One drop could kill us all. You have exceeded my expectations." he walks back to the front of the room and Marie smiles brightly as she looks over at Sam. But he doesn't look happy about like she is. She was very confused. Maybe he's mad that she bested him? She didn't know but it made her feel guilty. What is going on?


	8. Chapter 8

Help from the teacher/A crush to kill for?

On the way to Spells class, Marie looks at the ground, processing what just happened with Sam. She can't figure it out. She hasn't known him for very long but she's never seen him mad before. Well, mad at her at least. Something she did must have made him upset. But what was it?

As Marie was contemplating this, Jackie walks up to her, "Hey," She says, "how was your first class at Hogwarts?"

"I'm not sure," Marie says, "I excelled the professor's expectations and everyone shut me out after that. They thought I was lying about not having any magical training besides making potions."

Jackie looks at Marie, "There's more you're not telling me," she says, "What else happened?"

Marie looks at Jackie, though they have only known each other for not even a day, she wasn't sure if she could trust her with what she can't understand herself. She shakes her head, "Nothing of importance," she says, walking faster to her next class.

Jackie stands in the middle of the corridor watching Marie walk away with her head facing the floor. Something else is bugging that girl and she has to help her new friend to sort it out.

In Spells class, Marie takes out her wand. It is a special wand, according to the man who sold it to her said. It is 15", made of Rosewood, and the core is a Dragon's heart string. She hopes that her wand will help her in maintaining her unstable magic.

Professor Elridge walks into the classroom and everyone became quiet. He is fairly tall, still has a full head of hair, clean shaven, and has a strong build. From what Marie is told, Elridge has the most student admirers among the girls for his good looks, brains and being the youngest teacher at Hogwarts. She doesn't think that it is true. How can it be?

Professor Elridge looks out at his students and sees Marie. Having been told her situation, he has to help her however he can. But, also knowing where she came from, he felt a small connection to her. He was American born and moved here for work like her father did. He has to make her feel welcome.

"Welcome," Professor Elridge says with a bright smile, "to another year at Hogwarts. For those of you who don't know, I am Professor Elridge. I am here to teach you how to use spells and the proper way to use your wand when using those spells," some of the girls sigh silently as they watch him talk, "Now, you must learn how you hold your wand. The way it lays in your hand that is unique to you and you alone. Not every witch, or wizard, holds their wands the same way. Just like no two snowflakes are exactly the same."

Marie listens intently, seeing that all that she learns here will help her wield a wand with her unique magic situation. Is it just her or is the professor looking at her the most? It is making her uncomfortable. She mentally shakes it off. She can't afford to get distracted right now if she wanted to learn how to do spells.

After class, Professor Elridge calls, "Oh, Miss Huntington, could I see you for a moment?" Marie nods her head and walks over to the teacher's desk, "I've noticed that you were having a hard time getting a grip on using your magic with your wand. I would be willing to take time out of my day to tutor you if you wish to improve."

"Oh, thank you, professor," Marie says, smiling generously, "I'm afraid to admit that waving a wand has never been one of my strong suit."

"That's understandable," he says, "all you have to do is let me know if you're having problems. Whether it's with the lesson, your peers, or you have a problem you are not sure how to deal with. That's the same with other teachers as well. Anything you say to me stays in this classroom and won't be told to another soul, even if they're the ghosts that roam the halls." Marie laughs.

"Thank you, professor," Marie says, "I'll come to you if I am having any troubles no matter whether it's personal or educational."

"Nice summary," he says, smiling.

Marie shifts her feet under the professor's gaze, "May I go before I'm late?"

"Oh," Elridge says as if snapping out of a trance, "of course. You don't want to be late for your next class."

...

Sam storms to his next class, Defense against the Dark Arts, thinking of what happened in Advanced Potions. Marie had finished before he did with her potion! It was like she could see the problem with preparing the ingredients just from looking at the instructions. How is that even possible? She is fresh from America, with little to no experience with magic, and yet she bested him at potions!

John comes up behind Sam and could tell from the tension in his shoulders that he was mad about something. "Oi!" John says, "What's up with you?"

"Who said anything about me?" Sam snaps at John.

"You can't fool me," John says, "you're mad about something and I get the feeling it has something to do with Marie,"

Sam stops and takes a deep breath and turns to look at John, "Nothing happened and it has nothing to do with Ann Marie. I don't know what you are getting at but get it out of your head. It has nothing to do with you." Sam continues to walk to his class. He hoped that this day will pass quickly. He wasn't sure if he could stand to see Marie again today. 

Once at lunch, Sam sits down with a groan and rubs his face before he dishes his plate. Donna sits across from him and knows that he was out smarted. She sighs as she prepares herself for the enraged rant from her best friend, "Who was it?" she says straight to the point.

"This girl walks into Advanced Potions and tells us of what little she could do with mixing potions and she knew what to do from the start how to make the potion we were assigned to make. And she finished before me with high praise from Professor Wizen. And he doesn't praise anyone!" Sam says, his face turning red as he spoke. He stabs his food with his fork.

Donna flinches at Sam's words. He never raises his voice even when he's this mad. Whoever this girl is must be something else for Sam to blow his top like this. "Might I ask," Donna says cautiously, "who was this girl?"

Sam freezes the stabbing of his food. Should he tell Donna about Marie and what is wrong with her? She was his best friend but this was different. Maybe he could say her full name to confuse her? Either way, he had to answer her. "Ann Marie. Ann Marie Huntington," He says.

"Oh, that girl," Donna says, knowing exactly who Sam was talking about, "She's the new girl in fifth year in Hufflepuff, right?"

Sam looks at Donna surprised. "Uh," he stutters, "yes."

"And she's the girl you can't figure out," Donna says, playing with her food.

"Donna," Sam says, "You're too smart for your own good, you know?" he takes a bite of his food.

Before Donna could answer, Marie and her friends walk into the Great Hall with loud laughter. Sam fights the urge to look at her. Donna grips her spoon harder as she sees the girl that has been a thorn in her best friend's side. She had to do something about her and soon.


	9. Chapter 9

In denial of your feelings/The pain she never wanted

Once the afternoon classes were finished, Sam drags himself into the Great Hall, not looking forward to being surrounded by people. All he wanted to do was go to the library and see if there was a name to what was going on with him. Earlier that day he decided that he was ill; there was no other logical explanation. John was wrong about whatever he spouts about. He was determined to prove it.

John comes up behind Sam and puts his arm around his shoulders, "Still sulking?" he asks, teasing his younger brother, "you won't find anything. You're not sick."

"I am sick," Sam says, "why else would I feel like this?"

"Well," John starts to say.

"Don't even think about it," Sam interrupts, "I don't like Marie. Just intrigued with the special illness she has. Why would I ever like such a pathetic, sick, home schooled girl like her?! Don't be so daft!"

Suddenly, Marie walks quickly into the Great Hall followed by her friends who send disapproving looks at Sam. Jackie stands in front of them and glares at him. "I always knew Ravenclaw's were stuck up know-it-alls but you give it a whole new meaning, Longfellow." She says before following Marie.

"What did I say?" Sam says, confused.

John removes his arm from Sam's shoulders, "Are you really that stupid" He says, "Keep this attitude up and you won't know what those feelings you have mean." He walks into the Great Hall shaking his head. People walking by looked at him like they didn't know what to do with him.

For the first time in a long time, Sam didn't know what was going on. Why was everyone acting like this? What was going on and why did it involve Marie? While he was thinking about this, Donna walks up saying his name, getting no response, she shook his shoulder. He blinks rapidly and looks at his friend, now realizing that she was there.

"What is the matter with you?" Donna asks Sam, her temper flaring. She looks at the direction he was staring at, "What are staring at?"

Sam shakes his head, "Nothing," he walks into the Great Hall, Donna following close behind, "Nothing happened."

Donna follows Sam in and waits until they were seated, "I didn't ask what just happened," she says, "but," she fills her plate as she talks, "since you brought it up. Tell me what was going on."

Sam, with his plate full of food, pushes it around with his fork, "Nothing happened. Nothing important," he says softly, not looking up from his plate.

What was the matter with him? Donna looks at Sam, something was up with him. Something was bugging him, she knew it. And something told her that that Anne Marie girl was involved. And she was going to find out why.

...

Marie spends dinner not eating anything, despite her friends begging her to eat. Her emotions were so out of control that she had a hard time keeping control of her sporadic magic. This wasn't good. If she couldn't control her emotions there wouldn't be classes tomorrow. Tears streamed down her cheeks as Sam's words echoes through her head: 'a pathetic, sick, home schooled girl like her'. He didn't like me? She thought to herself. Was he really only interested in her illness? She covers her face, feeling used and dejected. Marie stands up from the table and storms out of the Great Hall towards the furthest girls' bathroom. If her magic did implode, minimum people will get hurt the further away she was.

Once inside the girls' bathroom, Marie can't keep her tears at bay much longer. Sobs chock out of her throat. She doubles over as her cries rack her body, falling to her knees. She has never felt so much pain before in her life. Having been sheltered her whole life; she has never really known pain like this. She starts to wail, everything crashing in on her like a stampede of centaurs running over her. The pain, the disappointment, the heartache and the sorrow. All of those feelings she never knew became crystal clear at that moment.

Marie's magic begins to surge around her getting more and fiercer by the minute. She now lay on her side, her hands clutched to her chest, her breathing growing short and rapid. Her vision was going in and out. The door open and rushing in were teachers and her friends. Their voices distant and faint as if a distant echo was traveling, growing more and more distorted as it traveled further and further away from its source. Then suddenly the world went black.


	10. Chapter 10

The awakening both physically and emotionally/the way I think of you

When Marie gained consciousness, she found herself in the hospital wing of the castle. Her head was spinning as she attempts to open her eyes but found the lighting too bright. This causes her to flinch and cover her eyes and before she knew it, people where gathered around her bombarding her with questions. Carefully, she opens her eyes again to see her friends standing on either side of the bed where she lay.

"Too loud," Marie chokes out. Everyone starts to quiet down at this.

"Thank goodness you're awake," Robert says, heaving a deep sigh of relief.

"You made us really worried," Jacquie says, slumping into a seat.

"But," John says, giving everyone a glare, "at least we know she's not in any kind of danger now that she's awake," he looks back at Marie, "how are you feeling?"

"My head hurts," Marie says softly, holding her head in her hands.

Everyone starts fussing over that minor problem. She didn't notice at first but all of her roommates where there and Sally. Everything was too much for her to take in for her at the moment and it was making her dizzy.

From somewhere to her left she heard a whispered argument between John and another person, "You have to go see her!" John says, in a loud whisper, "She's in this situation because of how clueless you are!"

"I don't care," The other person says in a whisper, "It's not my fault that she overreacted!"

"Who is are you talking to John?" Marie asks.

John brings a resisting Sam from behind the curtain. Marie takes one look at Sam and looks away forcing back her tears. She couldn't look at him after what he said. Why was that having such an impact on her anyway?

Jacquie glares at Sam and starts advancing at him with anger, "You!" She waves her finger at him and he steps back until he bumps into the table next to the bed, "If it wasn't for your careless words, Marie wouldn't have been so close to destroying the entire school and wouldn't have been passed out for a whole week! Also..."

Before Jacquie could continue her ranting, Marie speaks up, "I've been unconscious for a week?" she asks in a soft tone as she attempts to sit up.

Everyone looks at Marie surprised. "Yes you have," Sam says, "It's beyond my understanding why that could have happened." He looks at the wall, no emotion showing on his face.

Just as Jacquie was about to chew him out again Marie says, "Is that all you think of it?" she asks not looking at Sam as he looks at her slowly as she continued, "Do you really think this has any logic in it? Do you think I asked to be this way?" she says, her voice slowly gaining volume, "Well," she looks at him as tears welled up in her eyes, "I never wanted to have this mysterious illness that could kill everyone including myself! Do you realize how often I wish for this to go away!? Just because you're in Ravenclaw does NOT mean you have to understand everything that's put into your life!" she gets up from the bed and starts approaching him as tears start to fall down her cheeks, "Because of my illness, I've been sheltered so nothing terrible would happen to anyone! And everything here is still all so new to me. There is so much I need to learn but one thing I do not wish for is to be treated as dirt! Especially by those whom I think of as my friends!" she stands in front of him as she says this. Her lower lip quivers as a sob makes its way up her throat and she runs out of the hospital wing, her legs wobbling from lack of use for a week, not knowing where she was going. Her friends start chasing after her as the energy begins to swirl around her.

...

Sam stands frozen from where he was lectured. What Marie just said to him blew away any reason to argue with her. What she said was true to the point that he found himself speechless. Had what he said that day really hurt her so much to the point that she didn't have control over her powers?

He slumps onto the bed where Marie had slept the past week and couldn't see anything around him. He couldn't even hear John calling his name over and over.

"Sam," John says, waving his hand in front of Sam's face until he finally focused on him, "do you finally see that what you say is important to Marie? She's so innocent and fragile in so many ways that the smallest thing could upset her."

Sam rubs his face with his palms and brushes his hair back. John was right. Marie even said so herself, she had been sheltered all her life and this is all new to her. He had to watch what he says around her now. He has to go and apologize immediately or this will never end.

Sam stands up from the bed and rushes after Marie, looking all over the castle, searching for her frantically. He finally found her in a hall near the Great hall with everyone from the hospital wing trying to calm her down. He stands there for a long while, just looking at her. The magical energy around her was pulsating violently. He had to do something and fast.

Sam rushes over to Marie's side and starts to apologize, "I'm sorry," he says, "You're right, I shouldn't have judged your situation so lightly. I guess even Ravenclaw's can be idiots too." he chuckles slightly. He apologized to her nonstop for about twenty minutes before he realized that she was laughing. He looks up at her surprised. "Why are you laughing?" he says offended.

Marie tries to stop laughing long enough to speak, "I never would have thought you would be apologizing like this," she giggles uncontrollably.

Sam blushes at Marie's giggles and realizing where he was and what he was doing and was now embarrassed by his own actions. He cleared his throat, "It's only proper to apologize when one has done wrong," he quickly gets back up. The magical aura around her had softened. That was a relief.

Sam looks at Marie and finds her smiling sweetly at him causing him to blush more. What was wrong with him today? "Anyway," he says clearing his throat, "it's about lunch time. You should get something to eat."

"You should get the homework you've missed this week too," Jackie says helping Marie up.

"Alright," Marie says, "let's not doddle then." she starts heading to the Great Hall as people stare at her as she passes with a smile on her face.

"I'm glad she's back to normal," Jackie says.

"Yeah," Sam says softly as he watches Marie's fleeting back. He must be going crazy if all he thought about was her. What was wrong with him lately?


	11. Chapter 11

The little brother gets a lecture from the new girl/ a new love brewing?

In the Great Hall, there was a large group gathered around the Hufflepuff table and the usual loud hum of the students came from there. People must be asking Marie questions. Just before he could say anything, a loud whistle rang through the hall. It came from Sally. Who else did he know could whistle like that?

Once everyone was quiet, Sally spoke up, "Everyone back off!" she says standing next to Marie, "She just got out of the hospital wing so give her some air!" He's never her seen her so fierce. This made him look on in surprise. She usually wasn't like this. If anything, she was very calm and quiet. Looks like coming to school here has changed who she is and how she interacts with people.

Sam thought about this for a moment. Maybe it had something to do with Stewart being put into Slytherin? It's possible. Before, they were inseparable and he was usually the one to be more outgoing than she was, but since they're in different houses now, Sam guessed they have grown apart. This was very troubling. He had to do something about this and fast.

Suddenly, a high pitch gasp echoes through the hall. Sam looks in the direction the noise came from and realized it was Sally. She was dripping wet. It looked like someone was harassing his sister. The Slytherin table was in an uproar with laughter as someone held a wand in the air, levitating a bucket of water over Sally's head. But it was Stewart who did it!?

Angry, Sam starts marching over to where Stewart was and pulled him out of his seat, shaking him. "Why did you do that Stewart?" He asks his little brother.

"Because," Stewart says, "Sally's being a goody-goody standing up for that freak." he says this defiantly.

There was silence as people gasped and look at Marie for her reaction. Silently, turns to look at the boy, "Pray tell, young man, how am I a freak?" she glares at Stewart, her arms crossed, as she waits for an answer. The look on her face left no room for an argument.

Stewart pushes Sam's hands off of him, "Well," he says as he speaks to Marie with a pompous attitude, "for starters, you come from the States. Who knows what you brought with you from that God forsaken place. You're also a walking magical disaster waiting to happen. And another thing..."

Before Stewart could finish, Marie slaps him hard across the face. He stood there shocked. "Let me tell you something," Marie says, pointing her finger at him, "just because I come from America doesn't make me any less a person than you. In fact, my family came from this country. So shut your mouth and stop being a pompous brat about being British. Also, I may have unstable magic but that doesn't make me any less a witch let alone a freak as you so call me. And I'm here to learn different methods on how to fix that problem." As she spoke, she poked her finger at his chest causing him to back up and eventually fall back into his seat, "So next time you try to judge a person based on what you see, learn the facts before you jump to conclusions. Never judge a book on its cover. Do I make myself clear, Mr. Longfellow?"

Stewart nods his head vigorously, "Crystal clear, Ma'am," He says slightly scared.

Marie pats his cheek a little harder than needed so as to make him flinch. "Good," she says, "now eat your food." She turns him around in his seat and he says 'yes, ma'am'. Then she walks back to her table to help Sally dry off.

"What just happened?" One of the guys in Slytherin asks looking at Stewart.

"I think he just crossed the line with Miss Huntington," another says.

Sam walks back to his table and silently chuckles. Marie was full of surprises today. What was she going to do next?

...

After dinner, Marie helps Sally out of her wet clothes in her dorm room. She helped her into a warm bath and put clean dressings out for her to change into. Once she felt that it was ok for her to let her be, Marie went off to her dorm room to work on her late assignments and there was a lot. Taking a look at the homework her friends gathered for her made her anxious but she took a deep breath and rolled up her sleeves and got to work.

A few hours later, Marie finally puts her quill down and stretches her back and flexes her fingers from writing for so long. She ventured down to the common room to see only one person still down there. But that wasn't surprising considering the hour. Walking quietly to one of the vacant seats she saw that it was Robert who was still awake. More than that, he was reading a book. She didn't pin him as a reader so this was surprising.

"What are you still doing up?" Robert asks in a whisper when he realizes that Marie was there, putting his book down to give her his full attention.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Marie whispers back.

"I asked you first," he challenges with a slight smile on his lips.

"I've been asleep for a week," Marie explains, "I think I won't be able to sleep for a while." she lowers herself into a chair opposite of him.

Robert nods his understanding then says, "I guess I got caught up in this book," he indicates to the book he had set down, "that I didn't realize how late it had gotten."

Marie nods at him. She rolls her neck to relieve the tension that had built up in it from doing all of that homework. Robert notices this and gets up to massages her neck to help her. This caught Marie off guard. What was she supposed to do in this sort of situation? Her papa gave her mama massages whenever she had sore muscles and Vis versa, but this?

Robert realized what he had done and steps back blushing, "Um," he says, "sorry. I started doing that without thinking." he looks at the fireplace.

Marie blushes as well and starts saying something random, not knowing what she was saying. Robert looks at her and stifles a laugh. "What's so funny?" she asks.

"I can't help but think how cute you looked just now," he says in a whisper, causing her to blush even more.

She didn't know what to say to that and looks down at her hands that sat in her lap. Robert walks around to stand in front of her and knelt down so that he could see her face. She couldn't look him in the eyes so she looks away only to have him pull her face forward to look directly at him.

"Can you look at me please," he asks gently. Soon, he found him-self placing his palm against her cheek. Hesitantly, she looks him in the eyes, causing him to momentarily catch his breath. "Wow," he says breathless, "your eyes are so beautiful. I have never seen eyes like yours in my entire life." He strokes his thumb across her cheek.

"I...I don't know about that," she stutters. No one has ever said such things to her before. Not only that, but she was feeling flustered with his hand on her cheek. Was it just her or did it look like he was getting closer?

"It's the truth," he says, trying to reassure her, "there is no one that can match to your eyes."

They were just inches away from each other when Robert realized what he was doing. He pulls his hand away from Marie's face and steps away from her. "I'm sorry," he says quietly, "that was uncalled for on my part. I bid you good night, Marie." he bows slightly and before she could say anything, he grabs the book he was reading earlier and heads up to his room.

Marie watches his retreating back, confused about what just happened. What was that just now? She could still feel the touch of his hand against her cheek.


	12. Chapter 12

Untitled

The next day, Marie walked to the Great hall, not saying a word. She couldn't get any sleep last night because of what happened with Robert. She didn't know what to think of his sudden outburst. Was he mad at her for something she did? She couldn't think of anything that she did wrong that he would be upset about. Or was he mad at himself for what he did? Whatever the case, this was doing nothing for the fragile hold she had on her magic. If she were to worry about another thing, she didn't want to think about it.

As Marie sat down at her table, Robert stood up and walked out of the Great Hall. Jackie chews her food slowly as she looks from Robert's retreating back to Marie with her solemn face as she sat down to eat. This puzzled her but peaked her interest. What exactly happened to make the air between them cold?

"What's going on between you two?" Jackie asked, taking another bite of her food.

"I don't have the slightest clue," Marie admits, "He reacted strangely last night."

"How so," Jackie asks, and then a sudden thought came to her, causing her to choke on her food. Taking a quick drink of her juice she then said, "Did he try to do something to you?"

Marie doesn't say anything for some time. She weighs her words carefully. Jackie has known Robert longer than she has so she doesn't know if what she says will offend her. Finally, she says, "I don't exactly know what was going on," she pauses before continuing, "but I think he was going to kiss me." She looks down at the table. Not wanting to look her friend in the face.

"Oh dear," Jackie says, pinching the bridge between her eyes, "He's gone and done it again, has he?"

Marie looks up confused, "What do you mean 'Again'?" she asks, "This has happened before?"

"Oh yes," Jackie says, slightly annoyed, "Robert is," she pauses to think for the right thing to say, "one too easily to fall in love with girls. Although," she thinks about the times he had been smitten, "in the past it would take him longer to try something like that."

"How so," she asks.

"Well, he would usually wait for some time until he knew that that girl wasn't courting anyone. Then he would go up to that person and tell them that he likes them. But this," she points her finger at Marie, "this is different. There must something about you that makes him that way."

"Maybe," she starts eating as this goes through her head. So many different things have happened to her since she started school, and she was having a hard time wrapping her head around it. Hopefully, things smooth over soon.

Considering that today was a weekend, Marie took the chance to talk to the teachers about learning what they learned in class that week. The only trouble was, she didn't know where she was going. She went through hall after hall looking for her class. She walks for hours through the school halls before she was pulled from her thoughts when she heard someone talk to her. 

...

Sam finds himself, for the first time in his life, unable to concentrate on school work. Dropping his quill onto his desk and rubbing his temples, he tries to clear his head of unnecessary thoughts. But his thoughts consisted of Marie and the fact that she was better at potions class then he was. Finding he wasn't able to rid himself of such thoughts, he decides to take a break from his homework and walk around the school. Hopefully that will help.

While on his walk, Sam runs into Marie in the hall. This stalls him for a second, until he realizes that she wasn't paying attention to what was in front of her except to see the parchment in her hand. Despite his inner battle to not help her, he goes up to her and tries to help her.

"Are you lost there," Sam asks, stopping in front of Marie.

Marie jumps a little, "yeah," she says, laughing a little, "I'm trying to find the classes I was supposed to have had this week but this place is so big I couldn't tell you where the Great Hall was." She laughs to ease her tension.

He chuckles, "Well," he says looking at the parchment she was still holding, "which class are you looking for?"

"Um," she looks over her schedule, "Herbology."

"That would be outside," he says with a chuckle.

"Oh," she exclaims, "of course! Herb, plants!" she covers her face to hide her blushing cheeks.

Sam has never seen her blush like this before. For a split second, he thought she was too cute. He quickly pushes the thought away. Before he could say something else, Donna walks up behind him.

"Hey," she says to Sam, "What are you doing in the middle of the hallway?" then she sees Marie. Then her smile turns into a frown, "oh," she says with disdain, "you're with _her."_

Sam looks at her puzzled, "Why does your voice sound strange?"

Donna gasps with fake offence, "Whatever could you mean sir?" she waves her hand in confusion, "I was greeting you as I usually do," she now looks at Marie fully, "oh, hello. I didn't see you there. My name is Donna Bloodworth. Pleasure to meet you." She says with utmost sarcasm as she curtsies.

Marie blinks in surprise, "Oh," she curtsies back, "My name is Ann Marie Huntington. It's a pleasure to meet you as well."

Sam smiled as he hears Marie's introduction. He turns as he felt the pressure of a pair of eyes. For a split second, he thought he saw his best friend glaring at him.


End file.
